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Monday, 17 January 2011

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Children as young as TEN are 'being used, abused and thrown away by British sex gangs'

By Daily Mail ReporterLast updated at 10:16 AM on 17th January 2011

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* Children being sold for average of £16,000

Priority: Barnardo's says the debate must focus on the victims

Priority: Barnardo's says the debate must focus on the victims (file picture)

Sexually exploited children as young as 10 are being used bought, abused and thrown away by sex gangs in Britain a leading children's charity said today.

Barnardo's has called on the government to appoint a minister with specific responsibility for the escalating issue of organised on-street grooming gangs.

But child trafficking goes beyond sexual abuse, according to a second report out today, with European children being sold into UK criminal gangs for an average price of £16,000, and being forced to steal.

The call for a minister with direct responsibility comes as the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop) revealed the extent of the crime, with 21 of its 22 of its teams across the country having uncovered evidence of organised grooming and trafficking.

Earlier this month Abid Mohammed Saddique and Mohammed Liaqat were jailed for their part in organising a Derby-based gang thought to be the biggest sex-abuse ring ever discovered in Britain, involving up to 100 young girls - mostly aged between 12 and 18 - for sex.

Barnardo's says it is currently working with more than 1,000 children who have been groomed, abused and trafficked for money, but that the number represents only 'the tip of the iceberg'.

Ceop has begun a study 'to identify any patterns of offending, victimisation or vulnerability' but is keen for the debate to focus on the welfare of the victims.

Anne Marie Carrie, Barnardo's new chief executive, said the children had 'been forgotten as discussion has focused on the ethnicity of perpetrators in high-profile cases.

'Children are being passed from man to man, home to home, city to city.

'It's the domestic trafficking of children for money.CCTV: Footage of Mohammed Liaqat and Abid Mohammed Saddique cruising the streets of Derby prior to their convictions

CCTV: Footage of Mohammed Liaqat and Abid Mohammed Saddique cruising the streets of Derby prior to their convictionsTHE TELL-TALE SIGNS A PARENT SHOULD FEAR

The Children's Society has issued advice to parents to help detect whether their child is being preyed on by grooming gangs.

Penny Nicholls, director of children and young people at the charity, said gangs 'shower vulnerable children with gifts and lure them to be horrifically exploited, sometimes for years on end' and offered advice on warning signs.

'First of all, children get gifts they couldn't possibly pay for on their own - they're given mobile phones and various things, they're taken out, they're treated [with] things,' she said.

'Secondly, that children begin to be a bit more quiet and secretive about their friends.

'And thirdly, that they have very suspicious sleep-overs. Suddenly, sleep-overs become more prevalent.'

'This problem is getting worse in that it is getting more organised, certainly the grooming is becoming more organised using technology.

'The children are as young as 10.

'These children are being used, abused and thrown away by organised gangs of men.

'Without a minister with overall responsibility the government response is likely to remain inadequate.'

The Department for Education (DoE) said it was committed to action.

'Child sexual exploitation is an appalling crime - it is a form of child sexual abuse and must not be tolerated,' said a spokeswoman for DoE.

'This is a complex problem and we are determined to tackle it effectively by working collaboratively right across government and with national and local agencies.'

In a report released by Europol, which co-ordinates intelligence on child trafficking across the EU, the body states that children are also sold into criminal gangs in the UK and forced to steal, as well as being abused.

The children, who are believed to be worth up to £130,000-per-year to the gangs, are subjected to 'extreme forms of violence, such as sexual abuse and torture.'

The trafficking and exploitation of these children is a lucrative business, with the children being routinely sold between different criminal gangs and the "price" based on the child's money-earning potential,' said the Europol report.

Scotland Yard's Operation Golf, which look specifically at Romany child trafficking gangs, has calculated that average price of a child in the UK is £16,000.